


Eternal Happiness

by YouarethereasonIwrite



Category: Free!
Genre: Adorable, Fluff, Multi, No Smut, Wow, everyone adopts like at least one child, everyone is happy, i'm so excited for this fic, i'm trash, literally no one is straight except for maybe seijuurou, probably
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-05
Updated: 2014-12-09
Packaged: 2018-02-20 01:12:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 18,907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2409635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YouarethereasonIwrite/pseuds/YouarethereasonIwrite
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU where everyone is happy and there's no Eternal Suffering bullshit. </p><p>Also known as: That fic where all of these losers are healthy and happy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Gou: Angry Sharks and Worrying Boyfriends

**Author's Note:**

> look october i did it. I did the fanfic that we talked about over skype. I'm so happy ;w; 
> 
> It is also one of my headcanons that Nitori knows a shit ton of languages, Haru is totally demisexual, and Seijuurou is the most supportive boyfriend ever (well they all are tbh).

Gou was not expecting this at all. She was usually really careful with her actions, making sure that things wouldn’t turn to shit. Well, things weren’t exactly bad… Until she told her older brother, Rin, about her current predicament. The redhead sighed as she glanced at the small tool in her hand again. It was positive. Yes, Matsuoka Gou was pregnant.

“How am I supposed to tell Seijuurou now?” Her boyfriend would probably be elated, but a small part of her cringed in fear at the thought of him abandoning her and their unborn baby. She sucked in a calming breath, her heart beating quickly at the thought. No need to stress her body after all.

She wondered how it all started. Now, her boyfriend of three years, Seijuurou Mikoshiba, was a perfect man. He had a very cheerful smile, was generally kind, funny, and energetic, and he was also very patient (especially with Gou. They didn’t start dating until Gou entered college). Not to mention that body. They were currently living together in a medium sized apartment near Iwatobi, both having found normal jobs that paid decently enough. Anyway, it must have been one of the nights when they were celebrating Gou’s birthday. That night, they had slept together despite being drunk out of their minds. That might have been the cause of how she ended up with cravings, mood swings, and vomiting all the time.

Which led her to this state. She decided to check, just in case, if she was possibly pregnant (missing two weeks of blood gushing out of her private parts prompted her to do so as well). So, she went to a nearby pharmacy and bought a pregnancy test (she got a lot of stares and whispers from some of the older women). And now, she was in the toilet with said pregnancy test in her hand confirming her slight fears. Should she feel scared? Should she feel happy? Distressed? Excited? Gou didn’t know but she felt slightly sick with all of the stress being laid upon her shoulders.

A timid knock roused the redhead from her thoughts and she hid the pregnancy test behind her back, even though the door was closed and locked.

“Gou?” The redhead huffed angrily. Stop calling me Gou! I keep telling you to call me Kou! Stupid Sei-kun… She thought and unlocked the door, opening it at the sound of her boyfriend’s voice.

“You okay? You were in there for a while…” Seijuurou asked with concern laced in his voice. He hurriedly rushed her out of the bathroom, not noticing how her hands were behind her back the whole time. The former captain fret over here, bombarding the female with questions about how she was feeling and whatnot. She sighed and held up a hand to stop his babbling. He silenced immediately, eyebrows drawn together as she shakily held up the tool from behind her back.

“What are you…” Seijuurou properly looked at the pregnancy test, his sentence trailing off. He blinked once. Twice. Eyes as wide as his gape, his eyes dropped down to his nervous girlfriend. She was fidgeting in her spot, refusing to look at her boyfriend. Gou held her breath as her eyes were glued on the ground. She squeaked when her boyfriend suddenly lifted her up and spun her around before engulfing her into a warm embrace. The redhead calmed instantly, melting into her boyfriend’s muscular arms.

“Why didn’t you just tell me?” The older male asked gently and Gou looked down guiltily.

“I thought you wouldn’t want the baby…” She trailed off. Seijuurou’s eyes nearly popped out of his sockets when Gou glanced back up to meet her boyfriend’s eyes. She stifled a giggle.

“I would never do that.” He stated sincerely, bringing a large hand to the female’s face and cupping it. She sighed and gazed up at him lovingly.

“I know… I was just… Afraid.” The redhead nibbled at her lower lip, something that distracted Seijuurou and made him want to kiss her. He restrained himself and pecked her forehead instead. She beamed at him, a sweet smile replacing her small frown and Seijuurou felt his heart pounding wildly like the first time he met her.

“Wait till I tell Momo! He’s going to be an uncle!” Seijuurou happily exclaimed his hands joined together with Gou’s. She laughed freely until she abruptly paused. Her boyfriend noticed, with alarmed eyes, as her face paled and she let go of his hands to place them on her cheeks.

“Uncle! Oh my god! Rin.” Gou went back to fidgeting as she mumbled incoherent words to herself. She paced back and forth, her hand rubbing her stomach now and again. Seijuurou waited patiently for a few minutes until he pulled his worrying girlfriend into his arms. She still mumbled but her shoulders weren’t as tense anymore. Seijuurou rubbed the redhead’s back soothingly. She quieted down.

“Calm down, Gou. We’ll get through this together, okay? We’ll be okay.” The older male soothingly said, pressing a few light kisses on top of Gou’s head. She practically melted in his embrace and she timidly stared up at him.

“Really?” Seijuurou ignored the urge to kiss his girlfriend silly (and risk being smacked but he would do anything for her. It was worth it after all.).

“Really really.” Gou’s familiar sweet smile appeared on her face again and Seijuurou sighed softly like the sap he was. The redhead pecked her boyfriend’s cheek before resting on his broad chest (she could feel his nice abs). Sighing heavily, Gou absentmindedly pat her stomach gently.

“What will I tell big brother?” Gou murmured.

“I’m sure we’ll figure something out. We’re a team, right?” Her boyfriend smiled dorkily and Gou flashed him a small grin, arms winding around his torso.

“Yeah.” But deep inside her, Gou knew a shit storm was about to hit and the storm went by the name “Rin”. She sighed again and tried not to imagine her older brother tearing her lovely boyfriend apart with his razor sharp teeth.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Gou was right. She knew her brother would overreact and possibly maul her boyfriend, and she was utterly right. If the timing wasn’t as bad, she would have laughed out loud and forced her boyfriend to give her the two thousand yen she deserved. Instead, the redhead felt upset and terrified cause now she was sitting in her older brother’s shared apartment with her boyfriend and the two were staring at each other. A thick silence draped over the room.

Rin was a great man as well, even if he didn’t seem as great one year in high school. But, he was still a good older brother and generally cared for Gou. She was grateful for his overprotectiveness most of the time… But, today was not one of those days. In a way, the younger sibling felt bad for dropping the news onto Rin like this. Especially when he was about to move to Australia to fulfill his dream, his boyfriend, Nitori, going along as well. Rin’s boyfriend was currently sitting next to Rin and soothingly rubbing his back.

“So, why are you here, Mikoshiba?” The redhead shark was not so happy to see his former captain with his younger sister when they arrived at his doorstep. Nitori ignored him and let them come in, leading them to a small living room where everyone sat down on the couches. Gou gulped.

“What? You’re not glad to see your old captain?” Seijuurou laughed nervously, trying to ease the tension. Of course, the male was shot down as Rin glared at him. He got a gold star for trying at least.

“No,” Rin bluntly replied. He faced his younger sister. “Why are you here? And with him?” The younger sibling sighed. She knew he would act like this seeing as how he never approved of Seijuurou’s and her relationship. He was being a child though and she felt annoyance creep up on her.

“I’m not allowed to see my older brother before he leaves to Australia?” She practically snaps at him and she wants to smile in victory when Rin snaps his mouth shut, eyes widening briefly before turning back to the dangerous slits. Even Nitori looked shocked at the female’s short temper.

“Well… uh. No. But you could have came yourself.” Rin’s eyes shift obviously to the male sitting next to Gou and she sighs for the thousandth time that day. She crosses her arms and glares just as menacingly back at her whining older brother.

“Rin. We have some news to tell you.” She shushes him with her hand when his mouth opens. “And before you say anything, let me talk first, okay?” Rin begrudgingly snaps his mouth shut and Nitori pecks his boyfriend’s cheek to sate his anger.

“We.. Seijuurou and I… We’re... “ She sighs cause shit is about to hit the fan. “I’m pregnant.” Gou tenses up and awaits the hurricane that was about to swoop everyone up and destroy everything in its path. She’s holding her breath and when she hears nothing, she glances back up. Rin’s eyes are cast down on the floor, bangs over half of his face. Gou gulps and Seijuurou’s comforting arms tighten around her waist.

“Oh, I see.” Nitori squirms a bit at the calm tone, obviously not expecting the red shark to be so calm about Gou’s announcement. Gou knows it too, but unfortunately, Seijuurou doesn’t.

“So, you’re not mad?” The former captain hesitantly asks. Rin looks up again at the older male, his face emotionless before his lips twitch into a smile. It was slightly eerie, with the sharp teeth glinting in the light and Gou shivers at it. Seijuurou doesn’t notice and returns to his cheerful self. Gou can practically feel the murderous vibe from her older brother, and she desperately tries to shut up her babbling boyfriend. Nitori senses it as well, and he tries to restrain his boyfriend from running across the room and killing their former captain.

“Why would I be mad?” Rin speaks up again, obvious fury radiating off of him. Seijuurou, the ever oblivious one smiles at the redhead.

“Because you never agreed to our relationship, man. I’m glad we could see past that now, though.” Gou wants to duct tape her boyfriend’s mouth shut but the words were already out in the air. She gulped nervously and exchanged an anxious look with Nitori.

“Like hell.” Rin growls and he suddenly stands up, eyes flashing with fury. He’s snarling at this point, teeth aimed towards Seijuurou. “As if I would allow this!” Rin snaps angrily and tugs easily away from Nitori before launching himself towards Seijuurou and landing the first blow. The younger sibling gasps.

“Big brother!” Gou shrieks and she nearly faints in relief when Seijuurou manages to block most of the blows and doesn’t make a move to strike back. Nitori scrambles right after his boyfriend and tries to tug his boyfriend off Seijuurou, but to no avail. Rin is still trying to pound away at Seijuurou, his lips pulled back into a feral snarl the whole time. He’s shouting as well, and Gou never felt as scared for her boyfriend until now.

“Rin! Rin, let go! Stop hitting him, Rin! Sempai!” Nitori pleads and manages to yank off the hotheaded male away from their former captain. The males are panting heavily and Gou feels tears brimming at her eyes. A few tears escape as she glares at her older brother. She sniffles and watches as the guys stare at her with different degrees of shock plastered on their faces.

“Gou!” Seijuurou is already up and rushing towards his emotional girlfriend. When he nears, full tears are streaming down her face and don’t seem to be stopping. He quickly wraps his arms around her and wipes away a few tears. She’s not looking at him though. Her eyes were set on her older brother, her menacing glare just as terrifying as her older brother’s. At least Rin had the decency to look a smidge guilty.

“Gou--” Rin starts after a long period of awkward silence (apart from Gou sniffling and crying).

“No! I don’t want to hear it! I just-- I just thought you would be happy! I have a life growing inside of me and I was so excited when I found out! I wanted you to be the first one to know! But now, now... “ She trails off and her glare softens to a sad, betrayed look. “Now, I know why a part of me didn’t want to tell you.” Gou snaps and wipes the tears away. She stands up and brushes down her skirt.

“Gou.” Rin is pleading now but Gou has had enough.

“Goodbye, Rin. I hope you have fun in Australia.” She coldly says, not missing the hurt flash in her older brother’s eyes. Tears are already down her face again as she runs past everyone to the front door. She quickly slips on her shoes and rushes out the door, swiping away furiously at the tears and wishing the pain in her heart would go away. Before the door shuts, she wails loudly, a heartbroken cry that doesn’t go unheard by the other males.

Gou leans against her boyfriend’s car, sniffling vigorously and muttering under her breath. She’s clutching onto her stomach when a pair of arms pull her gently away from the car and into the person’s chest. Her heart leaps in her throat at the thought that her brother was comforting her. But, her mood sank when she realized the scent was not her brother’s. Still, she smiled weakly up at the worried gaze of Seijuurou.

“Let’s go home.” Her voice is slightly shaky and cracky from her sobbing. Seijuurou kisses her cheeks, tasting the salty water of her tears. He nods, completely silent for once, and unlocks the door. As they speed away, Gou pretends she doesn’t see her older brother at the front door, a regretful look painted on his sorrowful face.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Gou, talk to me, please.” Seijuurou pleads as he watches his girlfriend sullenly staring at the tv. Her eyes were glazed over and she didn’t seem to be paying any attention to the screen. Seijuurou lets out a sigh, eyes full of concern over his girlfriend and her current state of emotions. Ever since they arrived back from meeting Gou’s older brother and announcing the news, the redhead has been unusually quiet. She even remained unfazed when a commercial with a bunch of muscles was on!

“Seijuurou…” The older male perks up at his name being called--even if a part of him was upset that she didn’t call him Sei-kun--and practically sprints over to her side.

“Yes, my love?” He asks softly and Gou stares up at him with puffy, red eyes. The sight of her depressed state makes Seijuurou’s heart wrench. She sniffles and holds out her arms and the male knows what to do. He picks her up from her spot and heads towards the bedroom. She snuggles into her chest, a small sniffle escaping her nose.

“Thanks.” Gou mutters when she’s on their shared bed and the blankets are up to her chin. Seijuurou merely smiles in reply and ruffles her hair.

“Just, try to feel better, please. For me. I don’t want your body to be too stressed.” The older male rubs his thumb against her cheek and she nuzzles his hand. He sighs and pulls his hand away when Gou’s eyes are shut, a few tears already trailing down her wet cheeks. The boyfriend messes up his own hair as he leaves the room, closing the door behind him quietly.

“What should I do?” He moans and collapses against the coach. As he’s contemplating ideas of how to cheer up his girlfriend, his phone suddenly buzzes and vibrates, indicating a new text message. He grabs the cell from his back pocket and flips it open.

“Nitori?” He questions out loud and reads the message:

**Ai: how’s gou**

**Sei-buuchou: still crying**

**After typing his response, Seijuurou lies back down on the couch, eyes staring at the tv but not hearing what the news reporter was saying. It wasn’t long before another buzz was heard.**

**Ai: that sucks. I’ve already talked to Rin about it. I made sure to beat him up too! ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ**

**Sei-buuchou: good （　´∀｀）**

**Ai: oh yeah! can the iwatobi crew and i come over? please? we’ll behave and I’ll make sure nagisa doesn’t eat all your food (づ￣ ³￣)づ**

**Seijuurou chuckled. Nitori never changed from his high school days and was still the pleasant, hyperactive boy he was, even if he was taller than Rin now.**

**Sei-buuchou: ok. Gou is sleeping right now tho**

**Ai: That’s okay! We’ll be there when she’s awake! ヘ(^o^ヘ)**

**Sei-buuchou: aight**

By the time Seijuurou was done typing the message, the doorbell had rung and a few muffled shouts from the hyper blonde were shushed by many other people. Seijuurou laughed under his breath and made way to the door. When he opened, he saw all the familiar faces of Rin’s former team mates.

“Hey, Captain.” Nitori calmly says.

“That didn’t take long.” Seijuurou commented and Nitori just shrugged his shoulders. The male turned back to the other visitors. “And the Iwatobi Swim Club! Nice to see you guys again.” The redhead greeted and allowed the visitors to step inside of the house. Makoto was the first to bow slightly and smile pleasantly at the former captain.

“Hello, Mikoshiba. Thanks for letting us come in.” The brunette smiled softly and Seijuurou grinned widely back. He slung an arm around the tall male.

“No need to be so formal, Makoto! And the pleasure is all mine!”

“Oh, okay S-Seijuurou.”

“Just Sei is fine!” Seijuurou warmly said before being jerked away by a raven with calm, blue eyes. Haru immediately clung to Makoto with a face that screamed “mine” before pulling the oblivious brunette away and into the living room. Seijuurou smiled at the obvious lovers and walked after them.

“Ah! Sei-chan! We brought a bunch of snacks!” Nagisa happily shows the redhead two large bags full of assorted Japanese snacks from where he was sitting on the floor.The redhead whistles while the blonde has already dug into the snacks, ripping open a bag of calbee original chips. Rei sighs and evenly distributes the other snacks to everyone around the room.

“How is Gou?” Rei pushed up his glasses as he asks Seijuurou. The male’s smile faded and he looked down at the ground. Everyone became quiet.

“Not so well. What Rin did really hurt her. She’s been pretty depressed these past few days.” Seijuurou explained and he slumped down on his couch with an anxious look on his face. Nitori sympathetically pat his knee from where he was sitting. “So, where’s shark boy, himself?” The redhead questions after Nagisa cheerfully handed him a can of wasabi peas. The boy pops some in his mouth and his eyes water from the spicy taste.

“He’s at home too. He’s been pretty upset as well… I tried to talk to him but he keeps shutting me out.” Nitori sighs. “I don’t know what to do…”

“I guess shutting people out runs in the family.” Seijuurou weakly jokes and Nitori smiles at him before the group turns quiet again. Only the distinct sounds of crunching from the snacks and the low tv fills the air. They all just sat there, watching some cheesy soap opera and eating whatever snacks they could. It was around an hour later or so when the door to Seijuurou’s bedroom creaked open and a tired Gou stepped out.

“Sei?” She asks and blinks the sleepiness from her eyes. Her boyfriend is already up and bolting towards his girlfriend, who regards the rest of the people in their apartment with a confused look.

“What are you guys doing here?” Gou asks and she yelps when Nagisa stands up just as quickly and yanks her towards the living room. Seijuurou follows after her like a puppy, making sure she doesn’t fall.

“We wanted to see you, Gou-chan!” Gou frowns at the name but doesn’t say anything as she sits cross legged next to Nitori. Makoto shoots her a friendly, motherly smile and Haru curtly nods at her.

“Ok, so why are you really here?” The female demands once she sat down, her boyfriend squeezing next to her on the floor. Nitori munches on a chip before he opens his mouth to speak.

“What? We can’t see our favorite shark girl?” The gray haired male playfully asks and Gou sticks out her tongue at him. She yanks the bag of chips from his grasp and munches on his snack. Nitori pouts at her as she continues eating the stolen snack.

“I don’t have big brother’s shark teeth so I’m not a shark, dumbass.” The redhead snarks back. Nitori places a hand on his chest with a feigned offended look on his face.

“Gou! Whatever happened to the sweet, innocent angel?” Nitori giggles and Gou copies him. The rest of the people in the flat sigh in relief at Gou’s lightened spirits (or at least at how she didn’t seem as sad anymore).

“Like you should be talking, Ai-chan! You used to be like: “sempai! sempai!” and super uke!” Nagisa chimes in and Nitori grabs a pillow from the couch behind him to throw it at the squealing blonde.

“Shut up! Same to you!” Nitori is blushing at this point while everyone else is smiling lightly (except Haru).

“Quite the contrary, Nitori-kun. Nagisa has always been a little shit.” Rei smirks when Nagisa turns on him with a mock betrayed look. Gou is giggling behind a hand, Seijuurou happily staring at his girlfriend the whole time. Nitori smirks with Rei and they instantly look at each other with gleams in their eyes (that’s exactly how the “bug Nagisa back as revenge” club was started). Haru stared at everyone with a bored expression, but if you looked closely enough, he held an amused glint in his eye. And Makoto was trying to calm down Nagisa, as usual, since the blonde clung on to him and sobbed. Just a normal day in Iwami.

“Wow, Rei. When did you get that stick out of your butt?” Gou commented lightly, slightly surprised when her former team member cursed freely.

“When I replaced the stick with my--” Nagisa started. Makoto blushed a fiery red, the blonde still clinging on to him like a koala. Even Seijuurou, the only straight man in probably all of Iwatobi, had a slight pink tinge on his cheeks.

“ _NAGISA_.” Rei yelped, horrified. Gou and Nitori snickered at their friend’s embarrassment. “Besides, how do you know I don’t top?” Rei demanded with his arms crossed.

“We all know you don’t top, Rei.” Haru states seriously, chewing on a mackerel flavored chip Makoto was feeding him. The raven licked his lips nonchalantly as Rei grew the color of a tomato, spouting unintelligibly. Nagisa smiles wickedly.

“How did you know?” The blonde pops another strawberry pocky in his mouth. The other Iwatobi swim team members glance at one another with knowing looks.

“It’s kind of hard not to. Also, you may have been drunk that one Christmas party with Rei and you may have banged each other in Haru’s spare room. Loudly.” Gou points out. Nitori bursts out laughing on the floor, tears dotting his eyelids. Poor Seijuurou seemed uncomfortable with all this sex talk. That, or he was contemplating his sexuality. Makoto noticed the redhead’s discomfort and swiftly changed the topic. What an angel.

“It seems like we’re still the same.” The room hummed in agreement, quieting down. “Nagisa’s still… Nagisa. Haru still loves water (the brunette ignores Haru’s “and Makoto”). Rei is still a huge dork (he also ignores the snort of laughter from Nagisa and Rei’s spluttering “hey!”). Rin’s still a crybaby shark and Nitori is still totally in love with his sempai. Seiju--Sei-kun still loves Kou and swimming and Kou probably drools over abs. Well, the only thing majorly different is how G-Kou’s pregnant.” Makoto taps his chin in thought over his analysis. Haru shrugs and leans his head on the taller guy’s shoulder, eliciting a large smile from his lover.

“Yeah! Ne, Gou-chan! What are you going to name your baby?” Nagisa smiled brightly at her and she huffed in response.

“For the last time, it’s Kou, not Gou!” Gou angrily snipped. She groaned after a while, hand on her forehead. She sighed. “Anyway, I’m not sure. Sei?” The redhead turned to her lovable boyfriend with soft eyes.

“Whatever makes you happy, dear.” Seijuurou responds sweetly and Gou beams at him, their hands entwining. Nitori pretends to gag--not out of jealousy or anything--and mutters something about “getting a room”. Everyone politely ignored him.

“Can I name your kid, Gou?!” The blonde excitedly exclaims, bouncing in his spot. Rei sighs, exasperated, but shoots a fond smile at his fiance. Everyone pretends not to see that either, though they all have a small grin on their lips.

“Sure, knock yourself out. You guys can all throw out some names too.” Gou shrugs casually and leans on her boyfriend’s shoulder. He swings an arm around her body and grips on to her waist.

“Mackerel.” Haru said immediately, eyes lit up. Everyone groaned in sync. It honestly was no surprise that the raven would say something like that. Still, Gou hoped he would have been a little more serious about this. Makoto seemed to be thinking the same thing.

“Haru. This is serious.” He gently scolded and Haru scowled (read: pouted) at his husband.

“I am being serious.” The water loving nerd said “seriously”. Makoto stroked his lover’s black locks, planting a sweet kiss above his brow. Haru’s defensive shoulders instantly relaxed as the brunette grasped the raven’s hand. Ignoring the coos from Gou, Nagisa, and Nitori, Makoto turned back to the group with a kind smile.

“Maybe a pretty name if your baby is a girl, Gou. Like Ayame. Or Keiko.” Makoto suggested and Gou crossed her arms thoughtfully. She gazed up at her taller boyfriend and he awarded her with a geeky grin and a shrug.

“I don’t know.. What if the baby’s a boy, then?” Gou pursed her lips.

“Like Mori? Or Yukio?” Makoto pointed out again.

“Ichiro? Akihiko? Akemi? Hirohito?” Rei joined in. Nagisa managed to start on the second bag of snacks already, the rest of his trash littered across the living room floor. He was currently munching on some fruit gummies.

“How about something girly? So he can join the cool club.” Nagisa talked with his mouth full and Rei bopped his head, muttering something about “not being beautiful”. Nitori rolled his eyes.

“Like you’re cool, Nagisa,” He ignored the offended “hey!” and smiled at Seijuurou and Gou, “Have you thought of an English name too? Or like a name in a different language?” The gray haired male questioned. Gou shook her head.

“I don’t think so. That would be cool. But, it wouldn’t make so much sense since we’re going to live in Japan probably most of our life together. People will think we’re foreigners and we don’t even speak another language! We won’t even know what the name means!” Gou fretted and Nitori held up his hands in a defensive gesture. Seijuurou smooched his girlfriend on her lips to stop her blabbering.

“It was just an idea! Whatever you want, Gou.” The gray haired male popped a chocolate in his mouth.

“Kou.” She murmured after her boyfriend released her from the kiss. She sighed. “I don’t know. I guess I shouldn’t worry that much over the name, huh?” The female weakly grinned and Makoto was already worrying over her, saying how it was normal and such for her to think about the name. Gou smiled at his concerned efforts and waved him off with a “thanks”.

“Well, enough about us. How’s Tokyo for you lovebirds?” Seijuurou teased, casting Makoto a sly grin. The brunette blushed a fiery red that spread to his ears while Haru rolled his eyes. Seeing as his lover was too busy with his hands on his face, the raven decided to speak up.

“It’s good, I guess.” He shrugged. When he didn’t say anything else, the former captain turned to Nagisa and his boyto--boyfriend. The blonde was trying to kiss his reluctant, blushing boyfriend while said boy was trying (read: really trying) to escape the blonde’s eager lips. Of course, he naturally failed and Nagisa planted a messy kiss on the purple haired boy’s frowning mouth.

“So, Rei. How’s your job at the aquarium?” The redhead asked. Rei flashed him a thankful smile as he tore away from his clingy boyfriend and straightened his back. After ignoring the whines from Nagisa and pushing his glasses up, the nerd opened his mouth.

“Very well, Seijuurou-san. I’ve been testing a few theories of mine in the lab and so far, things have been going pretty well. All the marine animals are healthy and happy too.” Rei reported and laughed a dorky, loud laugh. Seijuurou glanced at Gou with a confused expression.

“He does that a lot.” She whispered back to him with a wave of her hand. Still puzzled, the male shrugged his shoulders, watching Nagisa attempt to cuddle with his stiff boyfriend.

“Hey, Nitori. What do you think you’re going to do in Australia while Rin’s being a swim dick?” Gou casually asked, inspecting her nails. Seijuurou snorted loudly and slapped a hand over his mouth to keep in his loud laugh. Nagisa wasn’t even trying.

“G-Kou!” Makoto shrilled with a horrified expression. Gou shrugged back in response to Makoto’s outburst with a straight face.

“He’s being a dick to me so it’s only fair I do the same, yeah?” The redhead pat her stomach as a habit and the brunette spluttered before quieting down. The sibling was right after all.

“It’s fine, Makoto-san.” Nitori kindly said. “Anyway, I’m probably going to be a translator.” It was no secret that Aiichorou Nitori knew about as many languages as Gou had fingers and toes. The boy knew Greek, German, Spanish, Latin, Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, French, Hungarian, Swahili, Portuguese, Cantonese, Thai, Korean, all five of the Nordic languages, Welsh, Polish, Vietnamese, Italian, Tagalog, Russian, Dutch, and the three Baltic languages as well. He also knew sign language in about ten of these languages.

“That’s amazing.” Makoto’s droopy eyes were wide in astonishment after Nagisa listed out some of the few languages Nitori knew. Nitori blushed and gazed down at his feet happily from the praise.

“Merci.” He easily said with a perfect accent and then translated for the rest to know. Then, Nagisa wrinkled his nose and gazed at the gray haired boy with a curious look.

“It’s kind of weird how you know all these languages but when it comes to English, you suck worse than Rei.”

“Hey!” The purple haired male shot his boyfriend an offended look. The blonde sheepishly smiled at Rei and pecked the boy on his red cheek.

“Hmm. That’s true. You can just have big brother help you with it! If he stops being a jerk.” Gou muttered out the last part under her breath. Apparently not quiet enough since Nagisa started to giggle and Makoto sent her an exasperated look. The redhead’s boyfriend squeezed her affectionately and kissed her on her cheek.

“Yeah I probably will.” Nitori nodded in agreement.

“Anyway, how’s your accounting job, Nagisa?” Gou turned to the blonde, who, unsurprisingly enough, was trying to blow raspberries on Rei’s neck. Rei really was a sucker (for love).

“Do we have to talk about my boring job?” The blonde whined and pouted when Rei cast him a stern look. He huffed. “Fine. It’s good. I’d much rather be something cooler though. Like, like! An astronaut! Or a zookeeper for penguins! Or or! A taste tester! A cake critic!” Nagisa’s eyes shone with delight at the thought of the cool jobs.

“Why don’t you just go for it? Like do these jobs?” Gou pointed out.

“Well then me and Rei’s plan to adopt those two won’t work out. They need--wait.” Nagisa hurriedly clamped his hand over his babbling mouth. Rei’s face paled as he softly punched the blonde’s shoulder. The blonde sheepishly smiled after putting his hand down, waiting for his friends to bombard him with questions. And so they did.

“What do you mean two?”

“Are you saying what I think you’re implying?”

“Oh my god. You guys are adopting?”

“This isn’t a joke, is it?”

“Heilige scheiße. Nagisa being responsible though.” Nitori blinked as everyone gazed at him this time. “What? It’s true.” He shrugged and the rest of the group continued with their questions aimed at Nagisa.

“Dammit, Nagisa. This was supposed to be a surprise.” Rei moaned and slumped against his boyfriend.

“Heh. Sorry, hon.” The blonde apologized and smooched Rei on the cheek. The purple haired boy pretended to not like the kiss or the nickname and looked away.

“Wait, Nagisa you’re adopting? So that means you’re going to have children before me?” Gou frowned. “I mean, I don’t mean to make it sound like a competition. But that’s slightly unfair. I have to go through the pain and you just adopt.”

“We can adopt next time if you want, babe.” Seijuurou piped up and nuzzled his girlfriend’s head with his nose. She sighed in content.

“Yeah, guess we could. You don’t mind if the baby isn’t ours?” She asked with a puzzled expression. Seijuurou shook his head and sent her a beautiful grin that she swore wasn’t the one that made her fall in love with him. A lot.

“As long as you’re happy, I am as well. I’ll love any child we have.” The redhead promised and Gou felt tears dotting her eyes. She brushed them away and gave him a watery smile. The male panicked and was about to ask her if what he said saddened her before she pulled him down for a kiss.

“Thank you, Seijuurou. I love you.” Gou whispered against his lips and Seijuurou felt his heart beating quicker, a blush already spreading across his tan face. She pulled away, eyelashes fluttering and enamoring the male sitting next to her. The red violet haired female smiled gratefully up at him, eyes softening at the corners and soft crinkles outlining her smooth face. Seijuurou felt warmth wash up his chest and tingle down his body as she cupped his face with a pale hand: milky white and solid olive coming together into one.

Their lovely moment was interrupted by a hyper blonde, who was now standing up and gaining everyone’s attention. He pointed to the ceiling, a goofy smile on his face.

“So that means we’re the first parents like ever in this group! We’re like your sempais for this! Don’t hesitate to ask Rei and I questions about how to take care of children! We’ll be glad to help!” The blonde loudly declared. Rei tried to drag the blonde back down onto the floor while Nitori rolled his eyes and leaned back against the sofa behind him. Meanwhile, no one noticed the twitching eyebrow from Haru, whose prominent stoic face was replaced with a slight frown (no one could tell the difference anyway so). Makoto desperately tried to talk to Haru but failed. The raven rose up to match Nagisa and crossed his arms.

“Oh my god. Are they going to fight?” Nitori loudly whispered to Gou. Makoto paled under his dark skin at the gray haired male.

“Ten bucks on Nagisa.” Gou whispered back just as loudly.

“Guys!” Makoto attempted to reason.

“Ten bucks on Haru.” Nitori replied back and turned around to watch the interesting show. Makoto, sensing no one would listen to him anyway, sighed and faced the two guys standing up.

“Oh? Is Haru going to say something?” Nagisa happily giggled. Haru’s eyebrow twitched again and his fists were clenching harder. Makoto was about to step in and stop his lover from throwing in a few punches when--

“Me and Makoto already have children.” Haru loudly announced, voice still monotone. At the slack jaws from his friends, the raven smugly smirked. His eyes were challenging Nagisa to “fight” back but the blonde was already looking quite jovial and enthusiastic.

“No way! You and Makoto already adopted! When did this happen?” The blonde all but shrieked in his excitement. Even Rei’s eyes were lighting up with mirth and surprise, his quivering hands clutching his pant legs.

“Can I meet them? What are their names? Why didn’t you tell us?” Nagisa continued on with his fifty questions and Gou started to join in as well.

“Makoto, you slut,” Nagisa clicked his tongue in amusement at Makoto’s face, “you should have wrapped your willy.”

“ **NAGISA**.” Rei and Makoto holler in mortification. Nitori busts his ass off laughing, tears already streaming down his face as he nearly throws up from all this laughter. Yeah. It was that bad. Haru pulls a small smile before completely dropping it when he sees how embarrassed his husbando looks. The brunette buries himself into his husband’s shoulder and hides his blushing face. The raven internally smiles at his dependent sweetheart.

“Well, I do have to agree with one thing though.” Rei pushed his glasses up with a serious gaze before he began his rant. “Makoto-sempai, you are a full grown adult now with a huge responsibility. This is the real world and humans aren’t like cats. You can’t just adopt children like they are little kittens! I know you really adore cute things but I have to put my foot down on this. I can’t just stand by and watch as you continue to adopt these children with no restraint! If you need help or anything, I’m always here.” Rei purposely left out his boyfriend, since the blonde was like a child and would probably cause more trouble than he would help them. Makoto sighed.

“Ok, everyone. Settle down.” The brunette rubbed his temples and shot a weak glare at his smug ass husband. Sighing, Makoto tiredly smiled at his friends as they quieted down and impatiently waited for him to speak.

“Technically, Haru is partially lying,” Makoto silenced everyone with an eerie smile, “we only have one child as of now. We were planning on getting another in about a month or so. As for Mizuki, he’s been with us for about a year now. We adopted him on August 14th and I guess Haru and I never really got a chance to tell you guys. We were both so busy with everything. And right now, Mizuki is staying with Kisumi.” The brunette finished. Everyone stared in awe at him, minus Haru, and Nagisa rushed to Makoto with his arms wide open. When the blonde hugged him tightly and nuzzled Makoto’s cheek with his own, it seemed to snap everyone out of their daze.

“Congratulations are due, I suppose. May you guys have eternal happiness.” Rei smiled and shook Haru’s hand. Nagisa rolled his eyes at the two formal friends and pushed Rei into Haru with one hand. The purple haired male squeaked loudly and landed on top of the raven. Haru remained emotionless while Rei started to scold his boyfriend once he scrambled off of his friend.

“Congrats, Makoharu!” Gou giggled as they shot her a confused look. “It’s a ship name me and Nagisa made up back in high school. Oh how the ship has sailed.” She muttered the last part to herself and everyone seemed to hear it. They promptly ignored her and went back to congratulating the duo.

“I’m so happy, sempais!” Nitori wiped away a tear and smiled at the two. “Congratulations and may you and your children always be happy!” The gray haired male earned a dazzling smile from Makoto and a small twitch of lips from Haru.

“Yeah, congrats, man.” Seijuurou broke into the conversation and grinned sunnily to the two. “That reminds me. Did you know Ai here used to have teensy crush on Makoto?” Nitori paled even more than his skin and he launched himself to the redhead to shut him up. The gray haired male began throwing a few punches at his former captain with a beet red face. Makoto colored a bit while Haru’s eyes narrowed.

“O-oh. Is this true, Nitori-kun?” Makoto inquired softly and Nitori nearly jumped out of his skin at the brunette’s words. He blushed even darker.

“Y-yeah. It was just a fleeting crush. I don’t have a crush on you anymore though.” Nitori confessed after the red from his cheeks went down. The male sent a quick wink to Haru and the raven simply huffed. “Anyway. Since captain is playing unfair.. Gou. Sei-buuchou used to “strongly admire” Haru.” Nitori made quotation marks at “strongly admire”, a smirk thrown Seijuurou’s way. Gou raised an eyebrow.

“Oh? Really?”

“It was _one_ time! Why’d you have to bring it up?” The redhead complained, glaring at his sly friend. Nitori chortled.

“Well, my crush on Makoto-sempai was _one_ time and you brought it up. I’m just evening the odds, buuchou.” The azure eyed male retorted with a smug smile, sticking out his tongue.

“Shush up, kohai.” Seijuurou halfheartedly commanded and grinned at Nitori. The two ended up laughing together, Gou watching them fondly. She glanced around to the bickering Nagirei couple and the cuddling Makoharu couple. She sighed and leaned against her boyfriend, who was recalling the past in high school with an embarrassed Nitori. Gou shut her eyes, trying not to let the emotions get the most of her. Just a few years back, they were all high schoolers, swimming together and hanging out together. And now, they were adults. Full fledged adults who all had responsibilities and bills to pay.

The redhead felt nostalgia wash up on her unexpectedly (nostalgia has a funny way of doing that), recalling a happy time with her supportive friends and family. She sniffed quietly, wiping away a stray tear leaking out of her eyes. No one noticed.

But, there was one thing missing. Gou’s eyes opened once more, noting the spot next to Nitori: empty. There was only one other person that needed to be here right now for her. Her older brother, Rin.

And so, the day passed by without a hitch.

 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

With that, nine stressful and painful months passed by full of vomiting, mood swings, cravings, aching, and sleepless nights. Unfortunately, the Matsuoka siblings were unable to make up due to their stubborn personalities and Rin flew off to Australia with his hesitant boyfriend. Makoto and Haru were still in Tokyo with Kisumi, Rei and Nagisa were still in Osaka, and Momotarou and Sousuke were still gone. They didn’t keep in touch with any of the old members and instead, went on their own way. Gou and the rest of her group of friends hadn’t heard from them since high school graduated. Also, Miho and Sasabe were married with a kid of their own. They traveled to many places in Japan frequently, and they were staying in Kamakura right now. And finally, Gou’s beloved best friend, Chigusa, was studying abroad in England with her girlfriend, Aki Yazaki. They were hoping to start a band together along with a few other girl friends. Chigusa and Gou still kept in touch and her best friend was super surprised when she found out Gou was pregnant. Nonetheless, Chigusa was very supportive and promised to kick Seijuurou’s butt if he ever hurt her in any way.

Anyway, those few months passed by quickly, Gou still working at her job as a school teacher and supportive counselor at the Iwatobi High School. Everyone was excited for her and she received many congratulations. Naturally, they didn’t allow her to do jobs involved with labor or anything that would stress her body. Otherwise, she remained at the school for work. Seijuurou, on the other hand, finally got scouted to be a swimsuit model for some new company called “Freestyle Swimwear” (she later found out it was a new company made by Miho and Sasabe). All in all, things were turning out to be great. Now and again, Gou would miss work for a day because of the pains from her stomach or the constant nauseous feeling in her stomach. Luckily, everyone understood and the nine months passed on quickly.

That being said, time seemed to come too quickly because on one particular July night, Gou suddenly woke up with a bad feeling wrenching in her gut. She paled instantly and hobbled to the bathroom before releasing her insides into the toilet bowl. After the exhausting encounter, she slumped tiredly against the toilet (after flushing it of course) while rubbing her stomach. She soothingly whispered words of love and comfort to her unborn child as she continued rubbing a particular spot. The redhead was about to doze off when a sense of foreboding woke her up completely. Only a few minutes later did she feel something leaking. Gou turned as pale as a sheet of paper.

“SEIJUUROU!” She screamed as loud as she could. A few seconds later, the redhead came rushing in, bedhead and all. The female felt tears running down her face as she shakily smiled, still on the floor of the bathroom.

“My water broke.” Was all she had to say before her boyfriend whisked her up from the floor and out of the door. He brought blankets from the sofa along the way as he lay his girlfriend down in the front seat of the car that was pushed down all the way. Wrapping a blanket around the trembling female’s form, he shut her door and sprinted to his own before buckling up and driving away to the hospital.

Along the way, Seijuurou was recklessly driving with one hand and gripping onto his girlfriend’s hand with the other. She squeezed his hand, sweat rolling down her face as she anxiously stared ahead like a deer in headlights.

Finally, after a half hour of constant fretting, anxiety, and driving that could probably kill a few unsuspecting people on the road--had there been any--they arrived at the hospital. Luckily, it was about 3 am and nobody in this small town stayed awake that late. At the hospital, Seijuurou carried his half awake girlfriend into the building with an alarmed look in his eyes. The male, unfortunately, knew nothing about female pregnancy or how to calmly ask someone to help so he did the only thing he knew. He yelled.

“Please, help! My lover.. She--” Not any sooner than he had uttered those words, a few nurses ushered him into a hallway and straight into an empty room. Even faster, the doctor arrived quickly and ordered the nurses to help her with doctor stuff that Seijuurou didn’t understand. Feeling quite lost, he excused himself quietly out of the bustling room to make a few phone calls. After a few dials, a familiar female voice picked up.

“Ah, Mrs. Matsuoka. It’s Seijuurou. Gou’s about to go into labor.” The redhead relayed the news and pulled the phone away from his ear when he heard the mother shriek.

“Already?! My, time seems to fly. I’ll be there as fast as I can!” The female promised before abruptly hanging up on him. The redhead bit his lip, wondering who else to call. Scrolling through his contacts, he landed on “penguin bro” and decided to also inform Nagisa and Rei about Gou’s predicament. Nagisa’s phone went to the dial tone so Seijuurou called Rei.

“Hello? Rei Ryugazaki speaking.” The purple haired male’s sleepy voice answered after a few dials. Seijuurou sighed in relief.

“Hey, Ryugazaki. It’s Mikoshiba. Gou-” The redhead started before being cut off by the other male.

“Her water broke, didn’t it?” Rei guessed and Seijuurou swore he could imagine the kid pushing up his glasses, light glinting on the lens. He attempted a weak smile, even if the nerd couldn’t see.

“Yeah.”

“I’ll be right over with Nagisa soon. Thank you for informing us.” Rei answered easily and hung up.

The redhead sighed and brushed a large hand over his untamed hair. He glanced back at the open door with a thousand nurses (there was like five. Close enough) inside and the doctor asking Gou a few questions before barking orders to the others. Seeing as there was no room inside at the moment, the worried boyfriend hung outside in the hallway, thumbing his phone and desperately wanting to call someone else. A light bulb popped up above Seijuurou’s head as he flipped open his phone and scrolled down to “T”. Three rings.

“Hello?” Another sleepy voice answered and Seijuurou nearly collapsed down the wall.

“Hey, Makoto. It’s Sei.” The redhead informed while the brunette yawned loudly, smacking his lips.

“Oh, hey. Why’d you call at this hour? Not that there’s anything wrong with that.” Makoto was still a mother hen, even when woken up at 3 am. Bless his soul. Seijuurou sighed again and gazed back into the hospital room, watching the nurses start to settle down.

“I’m sorry if I woke you up. It’s just. Gou’s water broke, at least I’m pretty sure, and we’re in the hospital and I’m really nervous. What if something goes wrong? What if she gets an infection or something? What if.. what if she doesn’t survive?” The redhead whispered out the last part, anxiety flaring in his chest.

“Calm down, Seijuurou. Just take a few breaths. That’s it. In. Out. In. Out. She’s going to be okay. Are the nurses all worried and the hospital in disarray?” Makoto sweetly helped and Seijuurou shook his head before answering.

“No…”

“See? Everything is going to be okay. This is Gou we’re talking about, the fearsome shark baby of our group.” The brunette chuckled at his own words. “Did you tell Rin this yet?”

“No. I don’t have one of those international phone cards so I can’t call him.” Seijuurou claimed.

“Ah, I see. Well, I’ll email him for you, okay? It’s the least I can do seeing as Haru and I are in Tokyo right now. We’ll come over tomorrow to see you guys, okay? For now, hang in there, Seijuurou. Gou is just as worried as you are, if not more. She’s going through a lot right now and you have to be strong for her, yeah?” The brunette reasoned with a calm voice and Seijuurou felt himself relax a bit more, feeling comfort and hope from Makoto.

“Thanks. That really helped.” The redhead admitted and sighed heavily through the phone.

“You’re welcome, Sei. I’m glad I could help.” Makoto’s smile could be seen from his groggy, cheerful voice and Seijuurou felt grateful for Gou’s and his nice friends.

“No really, thank you.” He cleared his throat, rubbing the back of his neck. “But, uh. Could you--Could you maybe stay on the phone for a bit longer? I’m still a bit worried and I’m not allowed back in the room. If you have to sleep, though, I get it.” The redhead blurted out the words and scratched his head. A lighthearted chuckle came from the phone’s end.

“No problem, Sei. We can talk.” Makoto reassured. “Oh, sorry, Haru. Did I wake you up? It’s just Seijuurou. No, nothing like that, silly. Gou’s about to go in labor. Yeah. We’ll see them tomorrow. Just go to sleep, my love.” The brunette’s voice was muffled as he positioned himself in a certain way, sheets rustling in the background. Eventually, the rustling stopped and Haru’s soft breathing could be heard along with Makoto’s voice. His voice was lower, quieter this time.

“Sorry. Am I disturbing you?” Seijuurou bit his lip.

“Oh, no no no! It’s okay. Haru’s back to sleep already.” Makoto explained, affection lacing into his tone and coating it deeply with a lovestruck feeling. Seijuurou wanted to sigh, but from love this time. He knew the feeling. Especially that pining feeling and waiting for his lover to notice him. It took a lot of time and patience, but the reward was worth it.

“Anyway, how have you and Haru been doing? Having a nice time in Tokyo?” Seijuurou kicked up the conversation and Makoto laughed.

“Yeah, I guess. Haru’s been working pretty hard nowadays with all his training. But other than that, everything else is good. What about you?”

“Nothing much. I finally got scouted to be a swimsuit model for Miho and Sasabe. They own a company now.”

“Oh, really. That sounds really fantastic! Congratulations, Sei.” A mumble from across the phone. “Oh, sorry again, Haru. Yes, I promise. Good night, my dolphin.” The last part was whispered out but Seijuurou still caught the endearing phrase. He smiled to himself.

“Sorry about that. Haru is kind of a light sleeper. Want to keep talking?” Makoto half whispered, voice low. Seijuurou chortled softly.

“It’s okay, man. You sound tired too. Get some sleep, sleeping beauty.”

“Oh hush. Well, alright. If you need anything, I’ll be here. Night, Seijuurou. Good luck.”

“I’m going to need it,” the redhead barked a sharp laugh, “thanks. Good night to you too. Don’t want to keep your dolphin waiting, right?”

“What--” An embarrassed squeak before Seijuurou hung up with another “goodbye”. He snickered and stuffed his phone into his pocket. Blowing out a puff of hair, the redhead prepared himself for a long night.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

****  
  


It had been seventeen hours. Seventeen hours of pure torture and pain for Gou. The poor redhead felt like she barely made it out alive. Everything hurt and she felt so exhausted with her body aching, and not in the good way. Still feeling a bit sweaty, she wiped away her brow and forehead as the doctor came back in with a bundle in her arms. Gou immediately attempted to weakly smile.

“Your baby is fine and healthy, Ms. Matsuoka. Congratulations on your newborn.” The doctor smiled, obviously just as tired as the new mother with large bags under her eyes.

“Is he…?” Gou quietly asked, gazing down at her baby boy with adoration in her eyes.

“Unfortunately, yes. He’s blind. He might be able to see a few blobs and maybe even make out people or colors but that might fade away when he gets older.” Gou’s eyes were still locked on her precious bundle of joy and she smiled softly.

“Ok. I think I know what I’m going to name him.” The doctor rose a delicate brow at her.

“Shouldn’t you wait for your lover to help you decide? What if he disagrees?” Gou shook her head, fond eyes still planted on the sleeping baby she was rocking in her arms.

“No. It’ll be fine.” She looked up at the doctor and the doctor rose up her hands in an “I give up” manner before getting out a pen. She glanced at Gou, pen posed to write. “Hikaru. Mikoshiba Hikaru. That’s his name.” The redhead softly replied and pecked her son’s small forehead.

He looked a lot like a smaller Rin, with a small tuft of violet red hair. He probably either had Gou’s light wine red eyes or Seijuurou’s golden eyes. Gou sighed deeply, eyes fluttering a few times in a weak attempt to stay awake.

“Would you like for me to call for your boyfriend?” The doctor observed Gou’s sleepy state and her slow nod. Smiling slightly, the doctor called for a nurse to inform Gou’s boyfriend that his newborn son was out in the world. The nurse nodded and hurried along the hallway before pushing the double doors. She glanced around before noticing a redhead with three other people: a blonde, a raven (more like purple hair?), and another redhead. She walked up to them, easily catching their attention.

“Are you Mikoshiba Seijuurou?” The nurse politely questioned and Seijuurou nearly popped his head off from how fast he was nodding.

“Yes. That’s me.” He stiffly responded, concern welling into his heart as the nurse stood up straight with a small smile.

“Gou would like to see you. I’m sure she would like to see all of you.” The female’s eyes flickered to the rest of the small group and they all nodded enthusiastically. Smiling, she led the small group back behind the double doors and into the hallway, stopping at the door Gou was staying at. After they were all in the room, the nurse left to do other nurse duties.

“Gou!” Gou’s mother and Seijuurou started at the same time as they rushed over to the female. Her eyelids were nearly closed and she kept trying to keep herself awake. At the sight of her favorite group of people, she smiled blearily up them.

“Mom, Sei. You came.” Gou sleepily yawned. She stared at the other two who were in the back, near the door, watching her with joyful eyes. She beckoned them closer and held out the little bundle in her arms. Rei’s eyes lit up and a few tears started to form on his eyes, Nagisa’s smile stretching wider than ever.

“His name is Hikaru.” Gou confirmed and glanced up at Seijuurou. He nodded and beamed at her while her mother cooed over the little baby. “Would you like to hold him, dear?” Gou asked Seijuurou and he bit his lip. Finally, after some thinking, he gently grasped the baby covered in blankets and held the baby the way he did when Momo was first born. With a soft smile, he rocked the little bundle of joy back and forth, gently swaying with his movements. Gou smiled sweetly at him before slumping down onto her bed and closing her eyes.

“Sleep well, my dear. You’ve been through a lot.” The sound of her mother’s caring voice lulled Gou to sleep as she finally closed her eyes, feeling serenity and love fill her up at the thought of her son.


	2. Makoto: Weddings, Children, and Crashers, oh my!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Exactly as the title states and this is about a year before Gou gets preggers (maybe like two years idk I'm bad with time and plotholes tbh). Nagisa is a little shit, as usual, Rin (read: everyone) puts up with Nagisa's shit, Nitori is an angel and some dark! Makoto. Nice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this is late... Oh my god. I have no excuse holy shit. I had this chapter half way done a long time ago but I procrastinated until now. Goddammit. I'm so sorry. Take this chapter and leave me here to die (Like one line from here is from ATLA and the title may or may not be copying Kodocha...). Also, I have never been to a wedding before or adopted anyone so I'm so sorry if this isn't accurate.

“For the last time, Haru, we’re not going to have the wedding in the aquarium!” Makoto argued, frowning at his fiance. They were currently sitting around Haruka’s living room with the rest of the former Iwatobi, discussing wedding plans for Makoto and his stubborn fiance. Said twenty six year old male had an unpleasant look etched on his face as he glared at the table full of references for weddings.

“It’s cheaper and there’s water.” Haruka pointed out. He honestly didn’t see how no one else agreed with him. Things were expensive nowadays and Makoto still had a few classes left for college. The aquarium would be a much cheaper alternative (for Makoto) and he got his amazing water (for himself). Win, win. So, why was everyone else blind towards this perfect plan?

“There’s no church near there. Besides, gay marriage isn’t exactly legal in Japan, Haruka-sempai.” Rei pointed out, pushing his red tinted glasses further up the bridge of his nose. Gou nodded, shooting a sympathetic look at all her friends. Being the only straight one (that was still up for debate with the whole Chigusa ordeal) in this group, Gou felt more than upset--very furious, more like--that they weren’t able to marry in their own country. She sighed. It was 2014, and still, pretentious pricks were homophobic for no reason other than it felt wrong to them. Wow.

“Where else can we go? It’s not like there’s any other Japanese speaking countries that allow gay marriage.” Haruka huffed, crossing his arms. Makoto slid a reassuring hand over his fiance’s hip, pulling him closer to the brunette. The raven immediately softened under his fiance’s hold, snuggling further into the warm embrace.

“Maybe Haru-chan can dress up as a girl and--” Nagisa started, only to be kicked down by Haruka and Rei’s glare. He hid behind Gou, who rolled her eyes.

“Ok, but seriously. Where else can these two losers get married?” Gou pondered out loud, staring down at the messy table. The group entered a long silence, each contemplating ideas of how the wedding was going to turn out. They were so absorbed in thought that none of them heard the click of the door opening and closing and footsteps walking towards the living room. The sliding door opened with a loud “snap” and a booming voice filled the room.

“Australia.” The hotheaded redhead grinned, his feral look catching Haruka’s calm one. Nitori tagged behind his boyfriend, waving at the stunned group casually.

“Rin!”

“Big brother!”

“Rinrin!” Everyone greeted in surprise. Haruka felt deja vu creeping on him, a nostalgic memory from high school resurfacing in his mind. He allowed a small smile to slip as he remembered the food he ate, the people he met, and the dream he discovered while at the English speaking country. It was all a thing of the past, and it wasn’t exactly a good memory either because of the fight between him and Makoto, but it was still something he cherished. The dream of becoming an Olympic swimmer. Those said swimmers diving into the pool with such grace and precision it actually left Haruka gaping. The way his whole body tingled, pulsed to be in the water. It was a beautiful time. One he would never forget.

“Gay marriage is legal in Australia?” Makoto asked after ushering the two newcomers into the room. Nagisa practically threw himself on the duo as Rei tried to pry him off.

“Duh. Where else do you think I’m marrying this dweeb?” Rin jabbed a thumb in his fiance’s direction and Nitori flushed. Nagisa gaped, actually silent for once, before rubbing his cheek against Nitori’s. The gray haired male stumbled and nearly fell, but he easily regained his stance, shooting a feeble glare at the blond. Nitori pushed Nagisa back onto the ground, sighing at the blond’s energy.

“Did he propose?!” Nagisa screeched excitedly, bouncing up and down. Gou perked up, staring at her older brother with gleeful eyes. The redhead sighed and motioned for Nitori to show their dorky friends. Nitori nodded, shyly revealing his right hand, the piece of jewelry on his ring finger.

“OH MY GOD.” The blond hollered, his eyes as wide as the moon. Rei shushed him, dragging his boyfriend down when the blonde started to jump up at his full height. Makoto helped the unfortunate purple haired male, and together, they managed to pull Nagisa down to the floor and make him sit properly. Haruka watched on with a stoic face, peering at the ring on his friend’s finger.

“Congratulations, Ai!” Gou sprung up from her seat and slammed her friend into a hearty hug. Nitori flinched, but held onto the elated female, a large smile pulling his lips up. The redhead’s eyes were filling with tears as her eyes met her older brother’s. She smiled at him and touched his arm, jovial giggles spilling out of her lips.

“You finally have someone that will tolerate you, big brother.” Rin spluttered, glaring halfheartedly at his younger sister and pushing her arm off him. He huffed, crossing his arms and looking away, but his smile betrayed how he really felt. The rest of the Iwatobi crew congratulated the fiances (Haru had to be nudged by Makoto) with large smiles and tearful eyes. Of course, Rin cried the most when Rei started a speech about how proud he was and how he would always be there for the redhead.

“Still the crybaby of the group, I see.” Makoto teased after Rin wiped away the sweat pouring out of his eyeballs. Cause that’s what it was. Just sweat coming out of his eyeballs. The redhead narrowed his eyes at his friend, which prompted his rival to glare back at him. No one glared at Makoto and got away alive, not on Haruka’s watch.

“Yeah, well, Makoto and I are getting married.” The raven haughtily announced, pulling his fiance to his side and smugly smiling at his rival. Rin felt his competitive side twitch and he grabbed Nitori, pressing a kiss to his forehead before grinning at Haruka. Nagisa cooed at the scene, Gou sighed, and Nitori and Makoto smiled apologetically at each other.

“This isn’t a contest, guys.” The brunette reprimanded the two, his tone one of a caring mother’s. Despite his harsh tone, Makoto laced his fingers with his lover’s, eliciting a beam from the raven. Rin growled and pulled Nitori into his lap. Gou sighed again, though she admittedly was staring at the way Rin’s and Makoto’s arms (muscles) would move whenever they shifted.

“Rin. Haru.” Makoto used that one dark tone that would send shivers down everyone’s and anyone’s spine if they were in this situation. He smiled when the rivals uncomfortably glanced away, the tension leaving the room. “That’s better.” The brunette smoothed down Haruka’s hair.

“Anyway, wedding plans!” Rei, who hadn’t spoke at all during this weird rivalry thing, piped up, gesturing towards the table full of ideas and whatnot. Nagisa groaned beside him, eating a bowl of rice and mackerel. Wait, what?

“Nagisa, where did you get that?” Haruka darkly questioned, eyes fixed on the piece of precious mackerel being eaten by his friend.

“It was in the fridge so I heat it up on the stove while you guys were fighting. What?” Nagisa stared confusedly at the others, still munching on rice and fish. They were staring at him with horrified eyes and mouths wide enough to drop on the floor. “I was hungry!” He whined, using his puppy eyes on the rest of the group. Naturally, everyone was immune to it by now (except the whipped Rei). Instead, they shot him sad looks with the shake of heads and barely noticeable “R.I.P” whispers out of their lips.

“Haru…” Makoto warned, placing a firm hand on his lover’s shoulder. The raven’s eyes were furious, full of emotion for once. No one stole his mackerel for a reason.

“Nagisa.” The raven eerily said, “We should talk. Outside.” Aaand the body would never be found. Lovely. Nagisa eeped, throwing himself behind Rin this time, bowl of rice still in his hand. Rin rolled his eyes, shoving Nagisa out of his hiding spot and out into the open. Rin may be a better version of Shark Boy from “The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl”, but he still wasn’t going to mess with Haru when the raven was in “killing” mode. Man, that boy has issues.

“Traitor!” The blonde yelped. He shut up at Haruka’s dangerous glare and launched across the room to hide behind his supportive boyfriend. Haruka’s eyes were on him the whole time. Rei stiffened, eeping just as his boyfriend had done.

“Calm down, Haru.” Makoto tried again.

“He stole my mackerel, Makoto. My mackerel.” Haruka growled out, eyes set on Nagisa like a fangirl spotting her favorite actor. Makoto tugged at Haruka again, arms enveloping his boyfriend easily.

“Haruka. Calm down.” The brunette ordered, breath against his boyfriend’s ear. In any other situation, everyone would react differently, usually yelling about “homos”, but no one uttered a single word. Haruka was mad scary when angered. Spoken from experience. The body still lay in the swamp, never to be found.

“Makoto.” Haruka’s voice muttered and the brunette hummed back in response, arms still around the raven. Haruka sighed and lightly pried his boyfriend’s fingers off him. His eyes were no longer the clashing black storms, but the familiar blue hues that reminded Makoto of the twin popsicles they shared and the kisses under chlorine filled pools. Everyone sighed when Haruka turned back into the lovable, emotionless robot he usually was. Rei began lecturing Nagisa--mainly out of fear for the same demon Haruka to come out--and punished the blonde with no cuddling or kisses for a week or something. Nonetheless, Nagisa was not a happy man. But hey, at least he wasn’t dead.

“Anyway, Rin? Something about Australia? Do you think we could marry there?” Makoto turned to the redhead with such cheer it was like none of the tension from before had happened. At his smile, the rest of the group instantly melted. People like Makoto were dangerous. He could manipulate anyone with that famous, motherly smile of his.

“Y-yeah. I could translate and stuff. Maybe find you a pastor that can speak in Japanese. It’s not impossible.” Rin answered, unconsciously sighing when his boyfriend started to massage his shoulders. Nitori kneaded on a particularly stubborn knot and Rin groaned loudly, eyebrows furrowed. For the sake of dirty minds, everyone tuned him out.

“Really? That would be amazing, Rin! Thank you so much!” Makoto happily replied, his smile widening and the angels basking him in holy light. Rin swore there were two angels in the room at the moment. Meanwhile, Gou inched towards Nitori and watched him massage the toned body of her older brother’s with skilled fingers. She sighed, fanfiction and fanart ideas in her mind.

“N-no problem, Makoto.” Rin scratched the back of his head bashfully, a small, real grin on his face. Makoto smiled at him kindly while Haruka seethed in his seat, narrowing his eyes at the redhead. Fighting back a snarl, the raven rubbed his cheek against the brunette’s, much like a cat (it was Makoto’s weakness). The brunette’s attention immediately shifted to his needy fiance and Makoto wasted no time in showering Haruka with love and attention. The raven smugly smirked at Rin when Makoto wasn’t looking. For once, the redhead ignored him and rolled his eyes in favor of the massage Nitori was giving him.

“So, you’re going to get married in Australia, Makoto, Haru? Though, isn’t that a bit expensive?” Gou pocketed her phone after taking multiple pictures and smiled at all of them innocently. Makoto, Haruka cuddled against his side, scrunched up his eyebrows at the thought.

“You’re right… But Haru and I have a few savings. Plus, my mom is kind of… overzealous about this whole thing.” Makoto left out the part about how his mom and Haruka’s mom gave each other knowing looks and they were both given two hundred thousand yen from their respective husbands. That, and his mom and Auntie were now super pumped about the wedding. It took all of his convincing to force his mother to stay at home and not follow him to Haruka’s house for planning. Haruka kicked out his parents as well, saying the meeting didn’t need any more people. Luckily, both Makoto and Haru’s fathers were supportive and kept the enthusiastic mothers at bay.

“How bad?” Rin arched an eyebrow. A similar thing happened, though Nitori’s family needed a bit more of a push (they weren’t homophobic per say, but they were not expecting a male to be coming home with Nitori when he announced he had a fiance). Rin’s mother was definitely more supportive and full of happiness at her son marrying someone he loved.

“On a scale of one to invading Canada in the winter, I’ve got to say invading Russia with no clothes on.” The brunette shuddered at his mother’s glint in her eye when she claimed she would help him. Rin smiled at him with empathy. He knew that feeling.

“That’s rough, buddy.” Nitori had finished massaging Rin’s back and shoulders and was now allowing his fiance to lay his head on the gray haired man's lap. Nitori combed his fingers through the red strands. Rin pretended not to like it.

“Yeah. Well, Haru? Are you okay with that? Marrying in Australia?” Makoto planted a kiss on his fiance’s brow and the raven’s eyes softened a bit.

“Water.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

So, the wedding took place in Australia. And wow. Makoto was expecting a lot of things to go on and everything. You know, since this was the former Iwatobi and Samezuka team attending Makoto and Haruka’s wedding. But, wow. That’s really all the words Makoto could say. Everything was gorgeous. The wedding was going to take place mainly at the beach, with a church nearby that would have the two to be husbands proclaim their vows and all the legal stuff. They were originally going to have a part of the wedding as a Japanese ceremony, but the expenses were already too high (especially for a barely out of university Haruka and a student Makoto). So, instead, the couple opted for just a Western style wedding, and for once, their mothers didn’t argue against it. Anyway, the place was absolutely stunning. Makoto didn’t know much about Australia other than stereotypes, but he still knew at least a few major cities. The ocean was so beautiful and vast, a bit different from Japan’s beaches. The brunette fondly remembered how he had to practically restrain his fiance from stripping down to his jammers and flinging himself into the water. Any other day would have be fine, but this was their wedding. And Makoto wanted to marry his best friend before Haruka changed his mind and choose water over him or something. Makoto sighed. He really hoped that wasn’t the case. He began feeling butterflies swarm in his stomach and groaned as they worsened. Especially when Nagisa bustled up to him before the wedding was going to start.

“Mako-chan!” The hyperactive blonde yelped and launched himself onto the taller man's shoulders. Makoto barely stumbled; he was used to his bubbly friend throwing himself at random people (you would think that’s a joke but the shit really did).

“Nagisa!” Rei panted after him. From his disheveled form, Makoto concluded that the poor purple haired male was chasing his boyfriend everywhere. In fact, Rei was sweating even more than Makoto, who was on edge from all of the nerves placed on him. Weddings, man.

“It’s soon! Are you nervous? I would be. You have to repeat all the vows but what if you get it wrong! And what if something else happens? Like someone wants to get in between you and Haru? Or what if the whole church catches on fire? Or what if--” Nagisa got pulled down by Rei’s “shut the fuck up” hand. Rei slapped both his hands on Nagisa’s mouth, smiling nervously at his sempai, who was turning an alarming white.

“Makoto-sempai. Don’t listen to anything this idiot says! You’ll do beautifully, I’m sure!” Rei boasted loudly, laughing his usual loud laugh; it turned out a bit awkward and strained, though. Makoto snapped out of his pale daze and grinned weakly at his two friends. He excused himself, walking right into a random room without looking. The brunette sighed, hearing his friends bickering at each other, mainly Rei berating his big mouth boyfriend.

“Makoto?” The male snapped his head up at the sound. He squeaked at the voice, standing rigid as his eyes fell on the raven. Realizing he wasn’t in any kind of danger, Makoto walked towards the other person in the room.

“Oh, it’s just you, Haruka.” Makoto sighed again, lips pulled up at the sight of his handsome husband to be. His eyes scanned over Haruka’s form briefly before snapping back up at the familiar marble blue eyes. They sparkled and reminded the brunette of the marbles he used to collect when he was younger.  

“Isn’t it bad luck to see the groom before the wedding starts?” Haruka calmly asked. Makoto eeped and turned away as fast as possible, shielding his eyes with his large hands. The raven smiled to himself, getting up from the makeup table (even though he wasn’t a girl?). Makoto shook, nerves flaring up as he recalled the very words Nagisa had spouted out of his non-filter mouth.

“I’m so-so-soo s-sorry, Haru!” Makoto blurted out, eyes shut. Haruka hummed behind him, awfully close. “H-Haru?” The brunette repeated. He gasped out loud when warm arms wound themselves around his larger torso and a solid chest pressed against his back. Haruka’s head nudged the brunette’s back, and Makoto stiffened before melting into the soft embrace.

“Relax, Makoto. I’m here.” The raven whispered against the solid back. Makoto felt tears well up in his eyes at his helpful lover. As quick as a flash, the brunette flipped himself around and embraced his fiance back. Haruka’s eyes grew a bit bigger at the sudden movement, but he didn’t move. Their sweet time together would be cherished and remembered forever.

“Soon…” Makoto mumbled sweetly, placing a kiss on his lover’s cheek. Soon.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“I do.” The very solid words echoed across the wedding chapel, soothing silence washing over the audience. The huddled mothers--inseparable from the start--sobbed quietly, handing each other tissue packs to dab at their proud eyes. The fathers exchanged looks and small smiles, each staring at their wives in sync as they stood up front. And of course, the two former swim teams, each with their own proud grins and eyes gleaming with unshed tears.

“I do.” The words repeated again. The two lovebirds were in their own world, not noticing anyone or anything else surrounding them. Right now, it was just the two. Makoto with his hair in the usual, not messy yet not smooth state. The black tuxedo fit well around his body, making sure to accent the well toned calves and back. Haru wore a slightly different tuxedo, thought it was a dark gray. They both wore different colored ties: Haru with a forest green and Makoto with an ocean blue. The two wore identical smiles as they gazed at each other with lovestruck eyes. Now, at this point, a certain shark boy (he was the groom’s best man) began sobbing even more, the multiple tissues stuffed in his fancy breast pocket as he stood next to his sister (best woman). Said sister rolled her eyes at her crybaby older brother, but sniffled a bit at the loving gazes of the newlyweds. The pastor opened his mouth to speak, the very words that would wed two lucky men and make their marriage official.

“I object!” Another booming voice rang clear in the otherwise silent chapel. A few loud gasps--mainly from two outraged mothers and one angry shark face--responded to the very words. For, at the open door of the chapel stood a very majestic creature. Haruka gasped as well, hand flung over his mouth in a hurry, tears welling up. Because there in the the doorway was… was… was--

“Pool-chan.” The words fell out of the raven’s shocked mouth as he gazed at the… pool? Makoto desperately wanted to smack his hand against his forehead, but Rin beat him to it. The redhead angrily exhaled, a huge red mark on his forehead. His fiance fretted over him, but the shark man shook his head. “You’ve got to be shitting me.” Was the elegant sentence strung together by an irritated best man. Makoto internally nodded. At the fucking door was a male--who looked suspiciously like Nagisa--dressed up in a costume that looked like some sort of kiddie pool, rubber duckies and water toys sewn onto it. The brunette sighed.

“And why do you object.. uh… Pool-chan?” The pastor cringed at the name, but otherwise kept his dour face. The poor man was getting paid more, Makoto sagely thought, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers. And Haruka’s eyes were sparkling. Of course. The brunette seriously feared his fiance would take Nagisa dressed up as a kiddie pool to be his new husband instead of Makoto.

“Because he loves me!” Nagisa-err--Pool-chan declared, pointing an accusatory finger to the man in question. Haruka blinked, eyes on the man clad in costume. He sighed.

“That may be true… But, I love Makoto more!” This felt like some sort of soap opera bullshit. And judging by Rin’s twitching eyebrow, his best man felt the same. Makoto sighed deeply. No wonder Nagisa refused to be his original best man and said he would be sitting with the crowd. He did all of that to pull off a bad gag like this. Makoto didn’t know whether to be in awe for his friend to pull off all of this or to feel annoyance. Definitely the latter.

“Fufufufu.. I see. You have grown, Haru-ch-kun.” The pool boy responded with a few sniffles. “Goodbye, my love!” And with that, he shut the door close, the loud noise bringing people out of their stupor. The brunette glanced back at the pastor, whose eyes were as alive as a dead fish. Clearing his throat, the pastor brought back everyone’s attention with his final words. His eyes scanned across the chapel to see if anyone else would object, and seeing as no one else would pop up at the moment, his words rang loud and clear.

“You may now kiss the groom!” The pastor’s voice boomed and Haruka instantly gripped onto Makoto’s dark blue tie, yanking the other into an unforgettable kiss. Their lips didn’t smash together, but instead, molded together in a soft, yet firm kiss. Makoto felt his heart speed up just like the first time he shared a kiss with his former boyfriend. And now, they were husbands. They were each others. And the thought alone made Makoto’s heart flutter as he clutched desperately on his husband’s tuxedo jacket.

“Get some, Mako-chan!” Nagisa, a bit out of breath Nagisa, piped up, louder than the others. He jumped up and down in his seat, hooting and whistling at the newlyweds. Rei facepalmed at his boyfriend, wanting to calm the boy down but couldn’t as a best man. That would so not be beautiful.

“I’m killing that little shit.” Rin growled. Nitori placed a firm hand on his boyfriend’s hip, sternly shaking his head at the redhead. Rin growled once more before glancing away from his blonde prey, opting to instead place his head on his taller boyfriend’s shoulder. Rei shot the angel a grateful glance before clapping with everyone else over the newlyweds.

“Now we can eat cake, right?!” Nagisa, the ever present little shit, yelled. The audience laughed at his antics, most of them not recognizing him as “pool-chan”. Haruka and Makoto’s eyes met and the two shared a small laugh.

“Yeah, we can.” Makoto smiled fondly at his younger friend. Nagisa squealed loudly and made a mad dash towards the doors, Rei hot on his heels. The two burst out of the door with the rest of the guests chuckling and following the energetic couple.

“Nagisa!” Rin screamed, chasing after the duo and pushing past many amused guests. That lead Nitori and Gou to sprint after him, Seijuurou after his girlfriend. Haruka rolled his eyes, holding hands with his husband as the two walked calmly out of the chapel. Many guests came up to them and congratulated them, wide smiles and beaming, puffy eyes directed at the newlyweds. Makoto ducked his head bashfully to each and smiled a huge, angelic smile (many fell in love with him that day). Haruka simply nodded at everyone, intent on eating some damn mackerel. As they headed out into the sparkling sunlight, the couple simultaneously lifted their free (ha) hands to shield the bright sunlight from their eyes. Haruka practically dragged his lover to the beach nearby where a growing line was forming at the buffet tables. But, much to the raven’s frustration, they were stopped like every five seconds by someone who offered them tearful congratulations and clasped hands. Haruka just shook his head impatiently to each of them, eyes locked onto the buffet table. Makoto grinned at his husband, way too happy to actually berate him.

“Yo, Makoto, Haru. Congratulations on hitching up.” A familiar deep voice congratulated and Makoto’s thousand watt smile grew even larger at the unexpected guest. He didn’t even notice him in the crowd, too busy focusing on the hectic wedding and just marrying his best friend. Sousuke smirked, tousling Haruka’s hair to gain his attention. The raven was about to snarl at the unlucky person before his mind cleared itself of the mackerel haze.

“Yamazaki.” Haruka deadpanned, though Makoto knew better. He could hear the slight hitch of his voice. The two may not have been on the best of terms in high school, but they became pretty close friends during college. However, Sousuke drifted from everyone in the group after college and no one had heard of him since. Until now, that is.

“I see you’re still emotionally stunted.” The taller raven smirked again, just to spite Haruka. It worked. Makoto sighed at his lover’s childish behavior.

“I see the only one who loves you is still your mom.” Haruka retorted just as quickly. Sousuke’s smirk faded and he glared at Haruka. Makoto, sensing hell about to happen, intervened and stepped between the two, glancing back and forth at them with a slightly panicked expression.

“G-guys! This is a wedding! Let’s try to be civil here!” The brunette stuttered helplessly, hands against both of their chests. Finally, Sousuke sighed and scratched the back of his head. His hair grew longer and was almost as long as Rin’s. Makoto let out the breath he was holding and smiled at the two. Haruka huffed and fixed his suit.

“You’re right. Sorry Makoto.” Sousuke quietly stated and the brunette quickly beamed at him. His former college roomie was still the same gruff, softie from back then. Nothing much had changed other than Makoto marrying his best friend (but even that wasn’t much of a change since they acted like an old couple every day).

“It’s okay. But, I’ve been wondering, where have you been?” Haruka perked up as well, his narrowed eyes returning to his old pal’s face. Sousuke looked like he sucked a lemon as he cringed at the question. Makoto watched as his old room mate gulped and nervously messed with his hair.

“Places. Look, I’ll tell you when the time comes, alright? Just trust me on this, Makoto. Please.” Sousuke looked around, eyes darting away when he spotted something in the distance. “Don’t tell Rin I was here, please.” The raven softly pleaded, his gaze on the ground. The brunette worriedly bit his lip, wondering why he couldn’t tell Rin, Sousuke’s best bro, that said best bro was at the wedding. Which meant Sousuke was going to leave again.

“But--”

“Just don’t tell anyone I was here. Please. I wanted to congratulate you and Haruka on getting hitched, that’s all. I heard about it from Gou when she texted me.” The raven explained, his attention still solely on the ground.

“Okay.” Haruka spoke up this time and Makoto whipped over to his husband with surprised eyes. Sousuke visibly brightened, eyes also on his former enemy.

“But Haru--” The brunette started, only to be interrupted again.

“It’s his wish, Makoto. We won’t tell anyone.” Haruka promised. Sousuke sighed in relief and grinned at the two with such sad eyes. Makoto frowned at his friend, his mother hen instincts taking over.

“Thanks. I owe you guys one.” He glanced around suspiciously once more. “Anyway, I should get going. Congratulations, again. Hope you two are happy and all that jazz.” The former butterfly swimmer pat Makoto’s shoulder and flicked Haruka’s forehead. He fondly smiled again before turning his back on them and walking away. The couple could only watch with melancholy as their dear friend walked away from their life again. It brought back memories when all of them were laughing, fresh memories that caused scars to ache from the nostalgia. Haruka was the first to snap out of his daze.

“Let’s go eat some mackerel, Makoto. It’ll make you feel better.” He emotionally pointed out and Makoto laughed through the tears in his eyes. The brunette glanced at the retreating back of one of his best friends and sighed remorsefully, turning his back as well. It seemed like nothing changed much.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Except maybe the fact that they were now married. Haruka had to shut up his husband with a kiss when Makoto kept reminding himself that they were married. Not that either minded. So, now they were sitting next to each other, thighs barely brushing. It was their wedding night, the one that involved virgins being deflowered. Even though neither boys were virgins (high school meant horny, curious boys). Still, it made Makoto’s heart beat a lot faster at the thought of the two completing their marriage with obligated sex, which Nagisa bluntly stated (the blonde was still undeterred, even after being hit and yelled at by a flustered Rei and an angry shark face). Which leads us back to the two dorks who were too shy to do anything (to each other).

“Makoto. We don’t have to do anything.” Haruka stated, noting the way his boyfriend trembled a bit from all the nerves. At his voice, the brunette stiffened, back straight as he stammered. The raven tried not to think of anything else that might be “stiff”. Especially not with how handsome Makoto looked in his tuxedo. Having Gou help them find groom suits was a good idea after all. Down boy, Haruka berated his tight crotch.

“Y-Yes!” Haruka sighed. His husband was too anxious and terrified to be reasoned with right now. The raven dragged his unresponsive husband down onto the mattress, towering over the taller male. Makoto blinked, certainly not expecting the usually emotionless male to make a move first. Haruka stroked Makoto’s cheek with slender fingers, gazing at his husband with honest eyes. At the words conveyed through the beautiful orbs, Makoto felt himself calm, a light pink dusted across his tan cheeks. They darkened when Haruka pressed himself against the other’s body, setting his lips on Makoto’s own. Lovingly, Makoto held his new husband with gentle arms, droopy eyes full of tender love.

“Makoto.” Haruka’s words were unspoken, but to Makoto, it was clear as day. He blushed more, but his glossed over eyes were starting to focus on their problems in their pants. They kissed once more, tongues inserting into willing mouths. Makoto groaned first, feeling Haruka start to peel off his well fitting pants. The brunette tugged on Haruka’s shirt, and the raven got the message. Both of their shirts were clumsily and hastily thrown to the floor as wandering hands found their ways to sensitive areas.

“H-Haru…” The brunette gasped, eyes thrown back. Well, right when his eyes were off of his husband’s beautiful face, that’s when Makoto noticed something awfully wrong. His lips, which weren’t claimed at the moment, shaped into a perfect “o” as his blood chilled. The former swimmer felt his libido die down as horror filled into his system.

“Makoto?” Haruka arched an eyebrow.

“What’s wr--”

“HOLY SHIT! A SPIDER!” The brunette cursed and threw Haruka off of him in a haste to get away from the monstrous creature. Usually people would be like, “oh it’s just a small spider”, right? Wrong. This was fucking Australia, the place where hell creatures are spawned out of the womb and thrown into the hell like an arena. This is Australia, the place with spiders the size of your fucking head. Australia does not fuck around.

“Ow…” Haruka grumbled, not appreciating the fact that the steamy mood was rapidly dying down like his erection. The raven’s eyes shifted over to his terrified husband, who had crawled away only in his boxers, and now hid behind his husband. Makoto shook like a leaf, eyes still on Satan’s outcast spawn. Haruka followed Makoto’s line of sight until he too, came upon the huge disturbance.

“KILL IT, HARU! BURN IT WITH FIRE!” The brunette screeched, his face as pale as a sheet. Haruka remained frozen at the sight of the huge, hideous creature. The eight legs were long and unmoving, but they still curled around its spot, probably posed to run if danger was near. The raven gulped. He usually wasn’t afraid of anything. But this large creature was larger than all of the ones they have ever seen before. Holy shit.

“M-Makoto,” Haruka stuttered (actually stuttered!), “get me some windex. If there isn’t any, find a bucket and fill it with water.”

“O-Okay!” The shaken brunette squeaked out and happily ran out of the room. Haruka trained his eyes on the spawn of the devil. Unfortunately, things in Australia weren’t exactly afraid of humans. So, the huge ass spider moved. Well, more like dashed across the bedroom wall with its gross, hairy longs. Haruka shuddered.

“Here, HaruKA!” The brunette screamed when he realized the spider had moved from its original position. “WHERE IS IT? WHERE IS IT?” He chanted, throwing the windex onto the ground next to his husband.

“Mako--” The door slammed on him, and Haruka sighed. Looks like he was going to have to deal with this alone. The spider was huge, but the raven didn’t exactly have arachnophobia, thankfully. With a huge sigh, the raven sought out the spider and prayed it would be over soon. The wedding night continued without another distraction (not like any of them did anything--Makoto was too scared).

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

And of course, Nagisa found out about the wedding night. Rin really needed to keep his mouth in check about these sort of matters.

“Oh my god.” The blond choked out, tears springing up from his eyes as he banged the table with his fist. Another burst of laughter left his lips as he practically cried against Rei’s shoulder. Haruka glared at Nagisa the whole time while Makoto looked upset.

“Nagisa.” Rei chided, glancing at his friends who looked to be very displeased with Nagisa’s reaction. The purple haired male glanced around nervously, meeting a displeased waitress’s eye and quickly bowed his head. His head remained down since he could feel the glares from not only his friends but other patrons as well.

“S-Sorry, sorry. Phew, I haven’t laughed like that in _ages_.” The blonde wiped away stray tears. Once he glanced back at the frowns from his teammates he rolled his eyes like the little shit he is.

“Nagisa. That wasn’t very nice.” Rei crossed his arms and sternly frowned at his boyfriend. The blonde pouted before realizing he wouldn’t be able to get out of this. He sighed.

“Well, Rin’s never nice but I don’t see you yelling at him.” Nagisa pouted again, arms crossed. Rei pushed his glasses up, nervously eyeing the way Haruka stabbed at another piece of mackerel with narrowed eyes at the blonde.

“Nagisa.” The purple haired male stressed and Nagisa deflated under his boyfriend’s motherly gaze. The blonde shyly stared at the newlyweds.

“I’m sorry.” He honestly said and Makoto instantly smiled at him. Haruka huffed and Rei felt relief flood his mind. At least his boyfriend would make it out alive.

“Thank you, Nag-”

“That our economy is in a sorry state.” Nagisa interrupted before hurriedly getting up and fleeing the scene. Haruka’s aura dangerously darkened and his murderous aura snapped the other two out of their shocked gapes. Rei screamed from the dark aura before chasing after his problematic boyfriend. Makoto shook his head and decided on eating his forgotten lunch instead. With one hand on his husband’s shirt, the brunette pulled Haruka closer to him. Thanks to the chestnut haired angel, no one died that day. Jk, RIP Nagisa Hazuki, you piece of shit.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

After the wedding, everything was back to normal (well as normal as the crew could get). Nagisa returned to his boring life of being an accountant by day and drug dealer by night (according to him), Rei went back to jerking off at the new information he discovered at the aquarium, Rin raced Haruka almost every day, Nitori was a full time translator and often went to different jobs, translating for people, Makoto studied a bit more in Tokyo, etc. etc. Things didn’t change at all after the wedding, and life went on. Makoto felt something was missing though. The brunette managed to convince his husband to adopt a cat back when they were still dating (not the white one--that one lived with Makoto’s family in Iwami). They named him Saba and he filled their lives (even if Haruka denied liking the black kitty) with joy. Eventually, another brown tabby joined their small family in the name of Mako (the cat may or may not look like Makoto).

But, still, Makoto felt that something was missing. And he found out when he applied to work at a swimming school for ages six and older. He mainly worked in classes for little kids though, seeing as how well he got along with the little kiddos. So, being the sensible man he was who knew how to communicate well with his best friend turned husband, Makoto sat down with Haruka one day, calmly watching some random tv program. Something about little kittens played in the background as the brunette suddenly turned to his husband, who was quietly scrolling through his phone while sipping on cup of tea. At Makoto’s somewhat intense gaze, Haruka’s eyes flitted up to to his fidgeting husband before scanning the pool information on his phone. The raven sighed and set down his phone, maintaining contact with his husband.

“Why are you staring at me?” Haruka bluntly asked as Makoto flinched and dropped the tv remote he was messing around with. The raven rose a sleek eyebrow at the brunette, whose eyes were focused interestedly on the floor like it was the most fascinating thing since mac and cheese was invented. Makoto peeked up through his bangs and eyelashes with a sheepish grin as he placed his hands on his lap.

“Do you like children?” The brunette smoothly blurted out. Makoto instantly regretted letting his mouth take over as Haruka’s eyes widened a bit before returning to its usual monotone expression. Makoto glanced back down at the ground, feeling much like a reprimanded child when his husband let loose a deep sigh.

“I guess.” Haruka shrugged, curiously eyeing his lover as Makoto sighed in relief, shoulders sagging.

“Why?”

“Because I may or may not want a child of our own.” The brunette really wished he could tape his mouth shut forever. He stifled when Haruka chuckled under his breath. Makoto tensed up as he peered at the shadow making its way over to him and the rustling noises of his husband scooting over to lay his shoulder on the brunette’s.

“Okay.” Haruka’s voice fanned over Makoto’s sensitive neck and the brunette shuddered from the warm gust of wind. He froze after hearing his lover’s answer before a wide grin exploded on his face. The raven didn’t have to look up to sense his husband’s growing excitement and joy.

“Haru, I love you!” The taller male exclaimed happily, arms surrounding the shorter male in a tight hug. Haruka grunted, prompting Makoto to fuss over him and yelp out high pitched apologies that wouldn’t fit the brunette’s outer appearance. But, the raven couldn’t find it in himself to be even a bit angry or annoyed when his husband’s beaming smile was directed sunnily at him. Suddenly, the next few busy days didn’t seem as bleak and stressful as before. Haruka let himself relax once more as Makoto babbled on about an adoption center he found and how they would visit it on one of their free weekends. Haruka Tachibana sighed lovingly against his husband’s neck once more, rings clashing between their entwined fingers. He couldn’t help but wish everyday would be like this for the rest of their lives.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Feel free to talk to any of them. When you decide on a child, we’ll fill out the papers.” A kind, old lady smiled at the couple before tending to a crying little boy, sitting on the ground. Makoto bowed politely to the elder with a small smile on his lips as he tugged Haruka to talk to a little girl coloring a picture of a crudely drawn dinosaur.

“Hi, little miss. What are you drawing?” Makoto patiently inquired as the little girl grinned through missing teeth. The brunette felt his heart soar at the adorable sight and he warmly smiled back at her.

“A dinosaur!” She squeaked and excitedly clutched onto the purple and green crayons in her chubby fingers. Makoto internally squealed, asking her a few more questions. Her name was Kiyoko and she had the prettiest hazel eyes that matched with her slightly darker chestnut hair. As Makoto continued asking her more questions about herself, Haruka zoned them out and blankly stared at all of the other children. Most of them were playing toys or drawing, each with matching sets of wide grins and playful eyes. One of the many children stood out to him, however. A little boy sat by himself, reading a book about marine animals and clinging onto a stuffed orca toy. The child would sneak longing looks to the other children before gazing back to the colorful book in front of him.

“I’ll be right back.” Haruka muttered to Makoto, who barely nodded a confirmation before the little girl dragged the brunette back to her side, practically glued to his side (that was a side effect of staying with an angel like Makoto: wanting to stay with him as long as possible). The raven walked over to the secluded boy, not even noticing the other kids running around and loudly laughing. The little boy visibly perked up at Haruka’s sudden appearance and shyly glanced up, waving slightly. The raven’s lips twitched, a small smile blooming across his face as he kneeled in front of the boy.

“Hello.” The little boy meekly greeted. Haruka nodded. An awkward silence continued as Haruka kept staring at the little boy. After the boy squirmed a bit under his attention, Haruka motioned to the book.

“Do you like water?” He tried sounding a bit less monotone and “scary” (as Makoto’s younger siblings put it) than usual, but ended up sounding just as flat as he usually did. The boy didn’t seem to notice and glanced back down at his book. He shrugged his small shoulders and closed the book.

“I guess. I really like the ocean.”

“My house has water.” Haruka bluntly offered. The little boy owlishly blinked and an awkward silence enveloped over them once more. In Haruka’s defense, he thought baiting the child would work out well. Obviously, that’s not how adopting works.

“Um, what’s your name, sir?” The child asked, squeezing his orca plush and sweeping his long raven bangs aside to show a pair of mismatched eyes. Haruka gaped on the inside at the beautiful orbs.

“Dad.”  _Smooth, Haru._

“Huh?”  _Nevermind._

“Haruka.” The raven cleared his throat and found that he could see child Makoto in the place of this little boy. The same shy gestures and light smiles that would blossom into bigger grins perfectly mirrored his best friend’s younger self.

“Oh, nice to meet you Mr. Haruka. My name is Mizuki! I’m six years old!” The little boy dropped his toy in his haste to show six of his fingers, proudly. Haruka could see it now. He would train this boy. He would train this boy to understand how wonderful and perfect water is and the wonders of swimming in it, feeling it--

“Haru! You just suddenly left!” Makoto, the worrying mother hen, chastised lightly as he reached the raven. The little girl he was talking with was nowhere in sight.

“Water.” Makoto tilted his head to the side, noting Haruka’s intense eyes, brimming with triumph and mirth. Raising an eyebrow, Makoto was about to ask when another voice beat him.

“Hello.” The brunette yelped in alarm, quickly hiding behind a crouched Haruka as he quickly surveyed the area for the voice. Finally noticing a raven with long bangs covering his eyes, Makoto visibly softened and sheepishly chuckled. Haruka kept staring at the little boy, fantasies of swimming and eating mackerel with his new child keeping the raven from reality.

“Oh, sorry! I didn’t see you there! What’s your name, dear?” Makoto smiled his famous motherly smile and the little boy stared dazedly at the stranger. Haruka sagely nodded. Makoto had that effect on people around him. _He will do well._

“Mizuki.” The smaller raven piped up, holding his orca close to him. Makoto noticed and smiled again at the cute gesture.

“Hello, Mizuki. I’m Makoto.” The brunette introduced, eyes glued partially on the orca. Noticing his distraction, Mizuki thrust the orca towards the taller male, a slight crease in his brow.

“Obaa-san always says we should share and since you keep staring at Umi, I’ll share him with you.” Mizuki explained, shaking the toy a bit to indicate for Makoto to grab the stuffed killer whale. Makoto looked a bit bewildered, but quickly reverted back to all smiles and sunshine. Haruka pat the little boy’s head with a fond look in his eye.

“Thank you, Mizuki.” Makoto replied, eyes never leaving the orca plush. It had a torn flipper, stuffing beginning to escape from the slit, and a worn out bandaid covering the spot. There were barely any stains or weird colors on the orca and it smelled of lavenders. The little boy obviously took care of the old toy, Makoto fondly noted.

“Makoto.” Said brunette glanced up to his husband.

“I want to keep him.”

“Eh?” Both Mizuki and Makoto said at the same time. Haruka nodded again, using his head to gesture to Mizuki. The brunette’s eyes widened at the implication while the little boy frowned.

“You can’t keep Umi!”

"You can’t just say that, Haru! He’s not some animal!” Makoto and Mizuki yelped at the same time. The two quieted after their outbursts, Mizuki with a wide eyed expression at Makoto’s yell and Makoto with a hand clamped over his mouth. Haruka merely gazed at them with fond, amused eyes.

“Wait… You want to adopt me?” Mizuki carefully pieced together, eyes still wide behind his messy bangs. Makoto exchanged a brief look with Haruka before resignedly sighing.

“Haruka really likes you.” The brunette weakly pointed out, said male nodding at the same time. Mizuka stared at them with a baffled expression on his tiny face, his arms twitching as if remembering he didn’t have his toy orca with him to hold.

“Why?” The question surprised Makoto and he nudged Haruka.

“Because you like water. I like water. It was meant to be.” The raven calmly stated, seeming pleased with his easy answer. Mizuki scrunched his eyebrows together, wrinkling his nose.

“What does that mean?”

“He means he feels a connection with you, Mizuki. That’s a good thing. Haruka doesn’t usually feel anything but love for his precious water.” Makoto teased, laughing lightly at the pout directed at him from his husband. Mizuki mulled over the words, eyebrows still pinched together as his balled up fists dug into his shirt.

“But, I’m a freak.” The little boy quietly murmured, eyes stuck on the ground. Makoto’s eyebrows scrunched up together this time, a frown on his face as he questioningly gazed at Haruka. The raven shook his head and pointed to his eyes and then pointed to Makoto’s eyes. The brunette gasped and nodded, understanding what that meant.

“You’re not a freak.” Makoto softly responded to Mizuki, eyes full of warmth and admiration. The boy peeked up, curiously eyeing the brunette.

“You like water. You’re not a freak.” Haruka confirmed and Makoto rolled his eyes at his insufferable water lover, Mizuki giggling lightly at their interaction.

“You may be different, but you’re not a freak, Mizuki. You’re a wonderful boy with very pretty eyes.” Makoto sweetly complimented, brushing the boy’s bangs aside and marveling at the pair of green and blue eyes. They were the same shade as Makoto and Haruka’s orbs and glistened with unshed tears. Mizuki sniffled.

“Really?” The boy quietly asked and Makoto nodded, petting the child’s head lightly. “Mhm. Of course.” The taller male promised, smiling lightly when the little boy leaned into his touch.

“Makoto.” Haruka, impatiently this time, urged. The brunette shook his head exasperatedly at the raven’s impatience. With a pleasant, almost business like smile on his face, Makoto turned back to the little kid.

“So, how about it, Mizuki? Would you like to come home with us?”

“Un.” Mizuki agreed and Makoto’s blinding smile rivaled the sun. Handing back the orca plush, the taller male stretched his legs, helping Haruka up with his hand. The raven smiled slightly at the memories of the same outstretched hand helping him out of the pool. They both glanced back to the little boy who gathered up his book and toy before following the two adults to where the little old lady was.

“Eh? Mizuki’s getting adopted? No way!” A few slightly older boys whined, frowning at the timid boy. Mizuki shrunk under their gaze and hid behind Makoto’s legs. Haruka glared immediately at the troublemakers. Before he could step forward and possibly land himself in jail, Makoto grabbed Haruka’s arm and shook his head.

“That freak is getting adopted before me? That sucks!”

“Yeah, I know right? I was hoping we’d keep the weak freak a little longer!”

“I’m gonna miss our punching bag.” The boys snickered amongst themselves, Mizuki staring at them with depressed eyes. Makoto suddenly cracked his knuckles, stepping towards the bullies with a dangerous glint in his eyes.

“Has no one ever taught you respect?” The brunette coldly asked, a frown etched on his usually soft face. The bullies were completely silent as they regarded the tall, muscular stranger. He glared at them, rolling his shoulders back. “If you dare say another thing about my son, I won’t hesitate to punish you.” Makoto warned to the bullies before leaving them behind with petrified expressions on their faces. Haruka huffed and glared daggers at them, his slanted eyes scaring the bullies even further. The brunette loosened his scowl and smiled brightly at Mizuki, who was staring at the two in awe and gratitude. As they walked away to the old lady, not another taunt or word was spoken to Mizuki.

“I’m glad you’re going with a loving family, Mizuki.” The old lady smiled at the little boy as the couple quietly whispered to each other (mainly Makoto) and filled out forms. The small raven nodded, a small smile on his face.

“Me too.” He admitted. The old lady pat his head, her eyes closed.

“I remember when you first arrived. You were on the doorstep on a hot, summer night. You didn’t cry at all. There was a note saying when your birthday was and what your name was. You were such a beautiful child.” The elderly woman wistfully recalled, hands behind her back. Mizuki’s eyes widened; he had never heard of how he first arrived to the adoption center until now.

“Here you go, obaa-san, the papers.” Makoto handed over the neat pile of forms to the old lady. She nodded at him and eyeing them quickly before deeming it as fine.

“Goodbye, Mizuki. I hope we see each other again.” The petite woman pulled Mizuki in for a brief hug and whispered something to him before getting up. The little boy nodded enthusiastically at her before racing over to his new parents.

“Welcome to the family, Mizuki Tachibana.” Makoto warmly welcomed Mizuki with his arms wide open. The smaller raven didn’t hesitate to throw himself into Makoto’s arms, who caught him easily and held him to his chest.

“Let’s go home, Makoto, Mizuki.” Haruka smiled slightly at the youngest member of the family and Mizuki returned the smile with a bigger one. Makoto laughed, allowing his new son to wind his arms around his neck and Haruka to hold onto their son’s belongings. The sun greeted them when they exited the building, and Makoto felt warmth fill his heart as the family walked to Haruka’s beat down car; it was a wonder it could still start up. With Haruka in the front seat with their newest addition curled up against his chest, Makoto drove away, feeling his life change drastically. From now on, they had another family member in their small family. The brunette briefly wondered if he could feel any happier than at this moment (the wedding was tied with his new love for Mizuki).

“We need to cut your hair as soon as possible, Mizuki.”

“Eh? Why?” Mizuki asked as Haruka thumbed through his son’s long hair.

“You can’t see through this bangs when you swim.”

“Haru!” Makoto laughed disbelievingly at his husband, who was dead set on teaching his son to swim. Mizuki didn’t seem to mind though, as the little boy snuggled up to Haruka’s neck. The raven, not used to such affection from people other than Makoto, awkwardly draped an arm over Mizuki’s small form and patted his back. The brunette snickered slightly under his breath, receiving an elbow to his side.

“Shut up, Makoto.”

“Haru! Not in front of Mizuki! I don’t want him copying you!” Makoto chided, Haruka muttering something to his--no, their son. Mizuki giggled cutely at Haruka’s deadpan words. The brunette rolled his eyes, parking the car in front of their shared apartment. Walking out of the car, Makoto held hands with his son, Haruka on the other side of Mizuki. The three strolled up to the apartment room, Mizuki’s eyes filled with excitement.

“Welcome home, Mizuki.” Makoto grinned down at his son, Mizuki’s excitement was contagious after all. Haruka grunted too as their son beamed up at them through unruly bangs.

“I’m home!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I s2g the next chapter will not take as long  
> Also, I was going to make an accident happen to Mizuki in this chapter but then I remembered this was a no angst fic. You guys got lucky... (Also the spider thing was just an excuse for me not to write smut lmao)

**Author's Note:**

> i just really needed a supportive au for these losers okay?


End file.
